


Being Cold Brings Little Brothers Closer

by Iamacarrot



Series: Under His Wing [1]
Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Brotherly Love, Cuddling & Snuggling, Family Fluff, I feel like we need more Leo and Mikey bonding fics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-02-13
Packaged: 2019-10-27 06:31:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17761610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iamacarrot/pseuds/Iamacarrot
Summary: Contemplation is good sometimes.





	Being Cold Brings Little Brothers Closer

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by some of GoblinCatKC's fics. I love how intricate and well thought out their fics are.
> 
> I like to enhance the brothers' more animalistic sides. It's an interesting concept to me, viewing the turtles as what they are. Turtles. I'm sure that the brothers still have some of their natural instincts in them, and that they use them to communicate and interact with each other and their surroundings.

Warmth. That was what Michelangelo had been seeking when he rushed into his immediate older brother's room in such a hurry. The Box Turtle had tried desperately to get warm and comfortable in his own snug little hammock, but he simply couldn't. The mutant family knew how bad winters in New York could get. Below freezing during the day, and  _below_ below freezing at night. Being cold-blooded reptiles, meant that the brothers had to do whatever they could to get warm. Each of the brothers had managed to find a way to keep themselves comfortable for the past few years, but it seemed like this year was going to be the most brutal and unforgiving.

Michelangelo had slammed his body against Leonardo's with a loud cry, his cold scales waking the normally blue clad Slider up instantly. A few curses and screams of confusion later, and Michelangelo was left to explain to his brother why he'd jumped into the bed the way he had. Such a story made Leonardo's heart sink, and he thought back to the brief body to body contact that he and Michelangelo had made. The baby of the family could easily pass off as a near frozen icicle, and he was getting worse as time went by.

Leonardo allowed Michelangelo to snuggle close, holding back multiple gasps of surprise at the feeling of ice cold scales against his once more. The younger whimpered, afraid that he'd done wrong, and relaxing as he was assured that he hadn't.

Soft breaths filled the room, and Leonardo watched as his breath became visible once it hit the cold New York air. A low hiss escaped the Slider, and he calmed down only slightly at Michelangelo's confused squeak. No words had to be spoken to reassure Michelangelo. All it took, was a gentle nuzzle, and a soft, somewhat chiding breath. Michelangelo knew what this meant, and he lay his head down, sighing. It was a good thing that the two had become close enough to not need words to communicate.

Words were lacking in certain psychological aspects, anyways.

Another squeak, followed by a trill, signified that Michelangelo was attempting to get Leonardo to go to sleep as well. The older refused, moving closer to his baby brother, and offering more of the blanket. Michelangelo shook his head, simply deciding to use Leonardo's pajama warmth to recollect himself. Michelangelo had always found it funny how his immediate older brother always  _insisted_ on wearing pajamas to bed. It was as if he genuinely believed that the brothers should take bedtime decency into account.

A scolding nip.

Michelangelo whined, closing his eyes and huffing. Yes, Leonardo had a point. Michelangelo _had_ raced to his brother to be able to sleep, and it _was_ rude to simply sit there and stay awake for the entire time. So, Michelangelo kept his eyes closed, and eventually fell asleep, snoring softly.

Leonardo growled lowly, but not at his brother. No, Leonardo was growling at the thing that had driven his brother to this last resort. The New York weather was incredibly unpredictable. It could be sunny and lovely one minute, and then snowing aggressively the next. Because of this, Michelangelo had become sick at least five times since the beginning of the year, and he had become almost immobile twice. Raphael, Donatello, and Leonardo were forced to put all of their attention on their sickly brother, and they were aware of how guilty Michelangelo had felt about that. The tiny terrapin could be so amusingly innocent and pure when he thought it was necessary. Just like the weather. Michelangelo could be adorable and cuddly one minute, and then upset and snappy the next.

Given the circumstances, Michelangelo could even be driven to bite and scratch at the others. Something that Donatello was striving to wean Michelangelo away from. Yes, it was good for the turtles to be in tune with their natural instincts, but it was psychologically inappropriate for them to use said instincts to lash out at each other for petty reasons.

At that thought, Leonardo snickered, looking down to his baby brother fondly. Soft breathing was all that was coming from Michelangelo. The sky blue irises that belonged to the orange loving terrapin were well hidden, yet he still had that somewhat mischievous and playful look on his face.

And a voice in Leonardo's head made him feel irked. He reached out his hands, and moved to gently untie Michelangelo's mask.

"Nngh... Leo...? What're you doin' big brother?" Michelangelo whispered, still half asleep. The sudden movement of his mask must have startled him.

"Oh! Nothing! Go back to sleep, little bro!" Leonardo replied.

Michelangelo sighed happily, doing as told. This led Leonardo to get that same nagging voice. It was telling him to take off Michelangelo's mask. Simply because he felt the need to prove a point to Michelangelo. That mask didn't make Michelangelo who he was, but he had come to start believing it. Walking around with his mask on every day was one thing, but  _sleeping in it_ was something totally different.

"I love you, big brother." Michelangelo whispered, almost inaudibly.

Those words caused the voice to shut up, and Leonardo smiled. With a brief kiss to Michelangelo's forehead, Leonardo lay his head down as well, closing his eyes, and drifting off.

No, the mask did not define Michelangelo, but, neither did Leonardo. And that was okay. It was okay for Michelangelo to be attached to the mask, and it was okay for Leonardo to be attached to his baby brother.

As long as the attachments didn't go too far.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not too sure about what to say about that ending. I'll just let you guys interpret it how you want.


End file.
